White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bristled at a question during the press briefing Friday on the cocaine found at the White House and asserted that asking if it belonged to President Joe Biden or Hunter Biden was “incredibly irresponsible.”
“The Biden family was not here. They were not here. They were at Camp David. They were not here Friday. They were not here Saturday. They were not here Sunday. They were not even here Monday. They came back on Tuesday. So to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible,” Jean-Pierre said.
On Thursday, a journalist during a press briefing aboard Air Force One to South Carolina asked:
Former President Trump has made some pretty wild posts recently on social media. One of them was that the cocaine found in the White House was — had belonged to either the President or his son. Are you willing to say that that’s not the case, that they don’t belong to them?
White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates responded, “I don’t have a response to that because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act.”
On claims "the cocaine found in the White House had belonged to either the president or his son. Are you willing to say that that's not the case?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2023
Mid-level Biden staffer Andrew Bates: "I don't have a response to that because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act" pic.twitter.com/zuM30v5Fli
The Hatch Act prohibits administration officials from engaging in activity related to political campaigns and the question involved a presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump.
At the Friday White House briefing, a journalist followed up on that question, noting that Bates did not answer the question or explain the relevance of the Hatch Act, and asked Jean-Pierre, “Can you just say once and for all whether or not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family?”
Jean-Pierre said the White House was not avoiding answering the question, and again declined to say that the cocaine did not belong to Joe or Hunter Biden, instead attacking the questions as irresponsible.
.@NYPost's @CaitlinDoornbos: "Can you say once & for all whether or the not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family?"
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 7, 2023
KJP: "So...we've answered this...for the last 2 days...There has been some irresponsible reporting...To ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible." pic.twitter.com/7b0N7wu35F
However, as reported by Breitbart News’ Joel Pollak, Jean-Pierre’s response was factually incorrect. Hunter Biden was indeed at the White House on Friday.
According to a White House pool report on Friday, June 30, “Poolers saw Jill Biden, Baby Beau and Hunter Biden clime into presidential SUV. President Biden followed a few minutes later. Motorcade rolling to Fort McNair as of 6:34 p.”
There is also photographic evidence of Hunter and Joe leaving the White House on Friday, when Jean-Pierre claimed they were not there.
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